Lushootseed and Coast Salish Culture

Lushootseed, or Puget Salish, is one of the more than twenty Salish languages that have been spoken by Native peoples in an area from the Pacific coast east to western Montana, and from Oregon north to central British Columbia. Lushootseed has been spoken in Washington State's Puget Sound (or "Salish Sea") region,where it has been roughly divided into two regional variants: Northern, traditionally spoken by members of the Snohomish, Stillaguamish, Skagit and Sauk-Suiattle peoples, and Southern, spoken by the Skykomish, Snoqualmie, Steilacoom, Suquamish, Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Puyallup, Nisqually and Sahewamish (Squaxin) peoples.

We pay tribute to the Native peoples of this region and honor their knowledge and traditional culture by labeling all the plants in the garden with their Lushootseed names, accompanied by translations in English and Latin. Specifically Northern or Southern Lushootseed plant names are followed by an (N) or (S). In some cases the Lushootseed names of the plants contain important information about the plant's attributes or uses, reflecting the intimate knowledge that Lushootseed speakers developed with their local plants and their characteristics. We invite you to listen to some of the samples of Lushootseed below and explore some of the cultural refinements that have been developed by Coast Salish peoples.